FICCI News

The veteran actor believes that the West will flock to our country if we develop skilled labour
It has been a fruitful year for Kamal Haasan. His last release Papanasam was a huge box office success, which managed to hold its ground despite the might of Baahubali at box office. Click here to read more

Vishwaroopam director and Chachi 420 star Kamal Haasan who led the Indian delegation at the ongoing Cannes film festival, in a statement said that the country’s pavilion provided a platform for Indian filmmakers to connect with “right” people.
“It is important that the filmmakers of today find the right people to connect with. It is a great initiative on part of the Ministry of I&B and FICCI to develop the programme of the India Pavilion in such a way that many important international names in the film business have been coming to the pavilion, providing Indian filmmakers and delegates at Cannes the rare opportunity to interact with them,” Haasan said. Click here to read more

Deal with piracy issues urgently, says the filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, asking for amendment in the Indian Cinematograph Act
Concerned by the increasing content theft in India through camcording in cinema halls, as well as the growing levels of piracy, multiple committees are mulling specific provisions for anti-camcord regulations in the Indian Cinematograph Act 2010. Click here to read more

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Wednesday stressed on adopting new technology and said that the state is trying to facilitate filmmakers with alternate locations for shoots. He felt regional media and filmmaking is creating a lot of excitement the state is, therefore, trying to create alternate locations for film shoots. “A film city in Kolhapur (in southern Maharashtra) will come with a lot of financial incentive to work in that city,” he said while speaking at inugural of the 13th edition of the three-day global convention FICCI-FRAMES.Talking about the use of technology, he said: “A huge employment opportunity has been created in a lot of areas in entertainment. We have to begun to use power of technology to educate our people via broadband, internet. Digitalisation will hence create a more equal society.” “This will ensure that growth is not lopsided and inclusive, that that benefits go to each and every person living in the country,” he added.Click here to read more

The four southern states together account for more than half of India’s 10,000 movie screens
Bollywood may hog the limelight but the quiet and industrious south Indian entertainment industry is the real growth driver for the Indian film industry and also the creative bellwether, given the sheer number of south Indian films remade in Hindi. That’s quite an achievement for a region accounting for just four of India’s 28 states – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala – and a union territory, Pondicherry. These grand statements are not just narrow regionalism; they are borne out by a joint report on the south Indian industry compiled by the Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and research firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India. Click here to read more

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan hates it when people leave out her last name Bachchan while introducing her
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, yes that’s how the actress would like to be called, please! It’s from the experience of some recent events that I learnt how possessive Ash is about her last name. One recent instance was when Mrs Bachchan junior (let’s call her that for effect!) was at the recent FICCI event where she was invited to welcome Hugh Jackman at the closing ceremony. The compère of the evening was model-turned-TV actor Viraf Patel (Mahi Way fame), who tried to entertain and amuse the audience as they awaited the arrival of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Hugh Jackman. Finally, when they arrived, Ash was the first to go on the stage, and obviously all the cameras were on her. Click here to read more

To introduce Shahrukh Khan and Hugh Jackman to each other’s work, the FICCI organisers made individual audio visual presentations on the stars
Karan Johar’s love for Shahrukh Khan is obvious. The director has always maintained the highest regard and a big place in his heart for the superstar. But at least once in a while he should neglect personal relationships, methinks. Click here to read more